Chechen Island

Chechen Island[lower-alpha 1] (/ˈtʃɛtʃɛn/; Russian: Остров Чечень, romanized: Ostrov Chechen') is a coastal island on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. It is located 20 km east of Krainovka right off the headland on the northern tip of the Agrakhan Peninsula.[1] This island belongs to the Republic of Dagestan, a federal subject of the Russian Federation.[2]

Chechen' Island
Chechen Island
Russian: Остров Чечень
Location of Chechen Island
Geography
LocationCaspian Sea
Coordinates43.966°N 47.756°E / 43.966; 47.756
Area55 km2 (21 sq mi)
Length15 km (9.3 mi)
Width10 km (6 mi)
Administration
RepublicDagestan
Demographics
PopulationNo permanent residents

The island has a length of 15 kilometres (9 mi) and a maximum width of 10 km. The sea around Chechen Island usually freezes between January and March. Adjacent islands include Lopatin Island (also known as Lopatina), Bazar, Prygunki, Pichuzhonok and Yaichnyy Island and are collectively known as the 'Chechen Archipelago'.[3]

History

One of the islands first mentions was around 1500 under the name sicamatela on an Italian map. The island is named after the Chechens. According to the Russian geographer and military man, the Chechens were previously settled up to the sea.[4] German explorer Samuel Gmelin, who visited the area up until 1774, mentions how Chechens would go fishing on the island.[5]

In the morning of the tenth day of the month at about 7 o'clock we left for the island of Chechen'. It got its name from an ethnic group that lives in the mountains - Chechens. They go fishing here.[6]

— Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin

In 1863 the lighthouse on the island was built by English builders.[7]

In tsarist times, the island was used as a place of exile. During the Civil War, being an important stronghold of oil shipping, it changed hands. In 1918, the British located a naval aviation base on the island, which they were going to use to bomb the ships of the Volga flotilla based in Astrakhan. In April 1920, by the forces of the Volga-Caspian military flotilla, he was finally assigned to the RSFSR.[8]

Ecology

There are many birds on Chechen Island, especially seagulls.[9] In very cold winters herds of Saiga tatarica find refuge in the island.[3]

1721 Van Verden map of the Caspian Sea with Chechen Island.
Aerial picture of the Agrakhan Peninsula with Chechen Island off its northern tip.


Notes
  1. Also spelled Chechen' Island.

References
  1. Worldmaps - Location
  2. Dagestan
  3. "Архипелаг Чечень". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
  4. "Акты, собранные Кавказской археографической комиссией: Том I. c. 716" (PDF). www.runivers.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  5. "Историческое описание российской коммерции при всех портах и границах: От древних времян до ныне настоящаго и всех преимущественных узаконений по оной государя имп. Петра Великаго и ныне благополучно царствующей государыни имп. Екатерины Великия, / Сочиненное Михайлом Чулковым. — Санктпетербург: При Имп. Акад. наук, 1781—1788. — 4°. Т.2, кн.2. — 1785. — 90, 1-446, 449—626 [=624] с. Хранение: MK АН-4°/ 81-Ч; Хранение: W 213/831;". viewer.rusneb.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  6. Гмелин С. Г. Путешествие по России для исследования трех царств естества. Том 3, ч.1,
  7. Marine Encyclopedia
  8. Encyclopedia. Caspian Marine Research Center.
  9. Caspian Sea Biodiversity Project


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